After barely 24 hours in prison, the Wall Street fraudster Bernard Madoff has launched an attempt to return to his Manhattan penthouse through an appeal for bail which discloses the true extent of his lavish lifestyle.
Documents filed by defence lawyers estimate that Madoff and his wife, Ruth, have assets worth between $823m and $826m (£589m to £591m) including four homes, four boats, a share in a private jet and a Steinway piano. To maintain their properties, they are burning through cash at a rate of $346,757 a month.
At least 50 victims of Bernard Madoff sat in a packed U.S. District Courtroom in Manhattan Thursday as the disgraced money manager was led off to jail in handcuffs after pleading guilty to masterminding a $65 billion Ponzi scheme.
Outside were many more, and they still represented only the tip of an iceberg that is thought to comprise thousands of Madoff victims around the globe, from retirees and celebrities to some of the richest people in the world.
Hollywood mogul Steven Spielberg, whose net worth this year was estimated at $3 billion, lost some of his philanthropic dollars to Madoff, according to a 162-page list compiled by AlixPartners, a restructuring firm tasked with helping liquidate Madoff’s investment company.
Bernard Madoff, the alleged mastermind of a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, may be nearing a guilty plea after federal prosecutors filed a notice that they intend to bring new criminal charges against the New York money manager.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt today filed a one-page document in Manhattan federal court indicating the government will file an “information,” or charging document, after Madoff agrees to waive a grand jury indictment. Defendants who agree to plead guilty to an information often first waive indictment.
FBI agents in the US state of Virginia have served Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford with civil legal papers from the US financial watchdog, the SEC.
Sir Allen, who disappeared from public view on Tuesday when he was accused by the SEC of an $8bn (£5.6bn) fraud, is believed to be in the Richmond area.
The SEC filed a civil case in court describing the case as a “fraud of shocking magnitude”.
He is not in custody and has not been charged with any criminal violations.
